Raymond G. Sanchez

Raymond G. Sanchez
Born (1941-09-22) September 22, 1941
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Nationality American
Occupation Lawyer, politician

Raymond G. Sanchez (born September 22, 1941) is an American lawyer who was a long-time member of the New Mexico House of Representatives.

Early years

Raymond G. Sanchez was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on September 22, 1941.[1] He attended the University of New Mexico where he obtained a BA in Government (1964), and then a JD from the School of Law (1967).[1][2]

Political career

Sanchez was elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives for district 15, North Valley: Bernalillo, in 1971. He held office until 2000.[3] Sanchez and Walter K. Martinez were leaders of the liberal "Mama Lucy Gang".[4][lower-alpha 1] This group controlled the house and prevented conservative "Cowboy Democrats" from the ranching areas in the south of the state from controlling the main committees.[6] In the 1982 election the liberal Democrats formed a solid majority of the forty seven Democrat members, and Sanchez was elected speaker without opposition from the Cowboys.[7] Sanchez was speaker of the house for sixteen years.[2] In 2000 Raymond Sanchez failed to be reelected to the house, losing to the newcomer John Sanchez, a Republican. The defeat may have been partly due to voters being confused by the names.[8]

Later career

After leaving office Sanchez returned to practicing the law, mainly working on government relations and personal injury.[2] Sanchez became a president of the regents of the University of New Mexico. His younger brother is Michael Sanchez, majority leader of the New Mexico Senate. In the 2010s Sanchez was working as a lobbyist at the New Mexico legislature for clients such as Virgin Galactic.[9] In 2013 as lobbyist for two Albuquerque cab companies Sanchez was critical of a bill that would open up competition in the industry.[10]

References

Notes

  1. The Mama Lucies were named after Mama Lucy, a lady who ran a coffee shop and helped out poor students at New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, Nevada. A group of future state legislators were at the university at the time, and learned from Mama Lucy's compassionate example.[5]

Citations

Sources

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